June 25, 2016

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear, I'm NOT taking a break from writing long review - no such luck LOL. But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, or in case I want to draw attention to some old ones I've already reviewed, I might as well give you the short version ;). Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random! So, here goes...

Part classic magic-gone-wrong story, part grieving-family tale, with complex dynamics, tridimensional sibling relationships, and a main lead who finds her strength when it's most needed. Yes, there are parents. No, there aren't love triangles, nor budding romances with infuriatingly attractive classmates. Yes, there are spiders. And ghosts. And demons. Are you in? :)

This small lovely book should have gotten WAY more attention. It's classic sci-fi/time travel (of the grandfather-paradox kind, only reversed) with a lot of humour, a couple of twists (one of them really funny), a resourceful protagonist and an unconventional friendship.

You don't need to be a believer to enjoy this story. You don't need to be a non-believer either. While faith is a main theme, and there are multiple Bible references, at its core this is a story about love and loss and the attempt of finding the meaning of life. Or one of its possible meanings. As usual, the author manages to go deep without embracing faith or agnosticism and make a flag out of one of them - but she also manages not to sound like an anythingarian. Kudos for creating a flawed, realistic male character who's also a virgin, and a girlfriend who isn't but isn't slut-shamed for that either.

Full review to come. (Goodreads pre-review)

Note: Nine Candles is coming out on Sep 15th, and I requested a review copy from the folks at Curiosity Quills Press, who graciously agreed to send me a PDF. Thank you!

So, have you read/are you planning to read any of the above? And if you did, what did you think of them? Do you post mini reviews? Do you like to read them?

Welcome to Offbeat YA! I love hearing from you and always - I mean always - acknowledge your comments. This used to be a full democracy place, because anyone could comment, regardless of being a registered member of any community. Unfortunately, I had to turn off the Anonymous comment option, because I was getting too much spam that didn't get filtered. Sorry about that. Anyway, jump right in! Come on, you know you want to... ;) And be sure to leave a link!BTW...I don't care if a post is a million months old - you comment, I respond. And you make my day. :DNote: this is an award/tag free blog. Sorry I can't accept nominations due to lack of time.

Privacy Policy

Please take notice that, whether by commenting, subscribing to Offbeat YA by email or asking me a question via my contact form, your email address gets added to a Google database I have no control over. In regard to that, as per the GDPR guidelines, here's the link to my Privacy Policy.

The Librarian

I'm a book and music buff, plus a radio personality for a local station. Christopher Pike and his book "Remember Me" are to blame if I've become a YA lit addict. For years, YA books have been my secret and guilty pleasure - till I found out that lots of other grown-ups were indulging in it too. I decided to set up this blog to share some often overlooked books with everyone who ♥ YA - whatever the age. So lay back and enjoy!

YOU CAN FOLLOW ME VIA GFC, EMAIL OR TWITTER...OR ASK ME ANYTHING (AS LONG AS IT'S LICIT. HA!). JUST SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE...
PLEASE NOTE: FOLLOWING ME VIA BLOGLOVIN' IS NOT AN OPTION - I MANAGED TO HAVE MY BLOG HIDDEN. MY REASONS ARE STATED HERE. I HOPE MY DECISION WON'T INCONVENIENCE YOU TOO MUCH :).
YOU CAN FIND ME ON GOODREADS INSTEAD, AND ON TWITTER @OFFBEATYA.

Read By GFC

Read By Email

Read & Tweet

Ask the Librarian

Name

Email
*

Message
*

Search the Library

Compatibility Note

Depending on the browser and/or operative system you're viewing this blog with, you may experience some small glitches - though I did my best to contain them. (Specifically, Opera is not a supported browser for Blogger sites, and does strange numbers on them). I apologize in advance for any problem that may arise. They shouldn't affect your reading pleasure at all nonetheless.

Offbeat YA design and contents by Roberta R. Online since October 14, 2012. Powered by Blogger.